Regional Transportation District directors may consider blending portions of two competing Union Station proposals as part of a remake of the historic station, according to sources close to the talks.

RTD's board deadlocked Tuesday night over proposals from two teams for redeveloping the station's interior.

One possible solution is to tweak the plan that would turn the station into a boutique hotel to include key features of the rival plan — making the great hall a more open, welcoming place for travelers and including a fresh-food market.

The Union Station Alliance hotel plan got the nod from a special panel appointed to evaluate the two proposals. The panel said that group's approach, which would have the great hall serve as the hotel lobby, was the better option because it should provide more revenue to RTD.

But that recommendation didn't carry the day, with the 12 board members in attendance split evenly, according to sources.

The competing partnership, the Union Station Neighborhood Co., wants to preserve the classic role of the station's great hall as a waiting room for transit passengers. USNC also wants to install a fresh-food market in a wing of the building.

"We are extremely excited that the selection committee and the RTD staff enthusiastically endorsed our proposal, and we are confident that when the RTD board members are allowed to have their specific questions answered, they will be as enthusiastic as the selection committee," said Sage Hospitality chief Walter Isenberg, who teamed up with longtime Lower Downtown developer Dana Crawford to form the Alliance.

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"We are making plans to move ahead, and we're looking forward to negotiating our deal with RTD and answering the questions some of the RTD board members may have."

RTD board members will hold another executive session Tuesday to continue their discussions.

Directors are expected to vote on the matter at a special board meeting Dec. 6.

The 15-member RTD board has one vacancy that will not be filled by Dec. 6, so for one of the proposals to emerge as a winner, the votes of eight RTD directors will be needed.

Union Station Alliance says its plan will pay RTD about $65 million over the 60-year term of the lease and generate $130 million in tax revenue.

Union Station Neighborhood Co. — master developer for the entire 19.5-acre transit district that surrounds the station, which will include an underground bus terminal and rail platforms — says its plan will generate $42.5 million for RTD over the 60 years it leases the building from the agency.

"I think it's a long way from over," said Mark Falcone, whose company, Continuum Partners, makes up half the Union Station Neighborhood Co. team. "We have gotten lots of feedback from general people in the community who were really bewildered by the decision, and I share that bewilderment. It would be a terrible mistake to sacrifice this building's abilities to meet the transit needs."

Transit is at the heart of the discussion over how the historic train station should be redeveloped and preserved, with many arguing that putting a hotel lobby in the building's great hall will intimidate commuters and other transit riders and discourage them from using it.

The USNC plan, however, would encourage commuters to flow through the great hall, continuing the role the room has played for more than 100 years.

"We remain very concerned about the conflict between transit riders and hotel customers," Falcone said.

USNC has identified $22 million in available funding sources that would enable work on the historic station to start immediately. Those include the $17 million from RTD and a $2 million equity investment from the developer. It also is lining up $3 million in historic tax credits.

Union Station Alliance plans to spend $48 million on the project, which includes a 130-room boutique hotel affiliated with the nearby Oxford Hotel, as well as local and national retail tenants, with everything from quick-service restaurants to gourmet grab- and-go and a 24-hour diner serving travelers passing through the station.

The project would be financed with $11.5 million in equity, $7.5 million from the sale of tax credits, 50 percent debt and $17 million from RTD.

Both teams have said their projects would be ready by the time the station opens in 2014.

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